Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a processing system having at least one digital printing docking point for connecting at least one digital printing unit and at least one post-processing station.
Discussion of Related Art
WO 99/54244 describes a processing system for processing piece goods, i.e., for processing essentially identical or at least similar objects that are to be processed in large numbers and in an ordered sequence, individually or in defined groups, and generally in a more or less precisely defined position and spatial location. The processing system comprises a conveying system with a closed track system that optionally includes switches, and comprises a plurality of conveying/holding means that are independently movable in a direction on the track system, and comprises devices for loading conveying/holding means with objects or groups of objects to be processed, and comprises devices for processing objects or groups of objects, and devices for unloading processed objects or groups of objects from conveying/holding means. Means for entry control and collecting lines situated upstream therefrom are associated with the devices; the entry control generates the spatial location of the conveying/holding means and of the objects that is required by the device, and the conveying/holding means and the objects are ordered into a temporal sequence that is required by the device, and the conveying/holding means are optionally accumulated on the collecting line in front of the entry control. The devices with their associated entry control means, as well as switches are organized individually or in groups in autonomous stations having controlling means inside the station.
WO 98/03419 describes a device for bringing printed products to at least two processing stations intended for processing printed products. The device has a closed main conveying line for transporting in a conveying direction the printed products, each held by a clamp, that become available, and has multiple feed lines designed as buffer lines, and a return line. A processing station is associated with each feed line. The feed lines are connected to the main conveying line by means of controlled switches, so that, viewed in the conveying direction, each of the clamps can be supplied to any given processing station.
WO 2007/089408 A2 discloses a device for producing book blocks using a digital printer. The digitally printed paper sheets are folded and combined into stacks, which form a portion of a book block or an entire book block. The assembled book block intermediate products may subsequently be further processed, in particular milled at the binding edge, bound in a binding device, for example by adhesive binding, and cropped and further processed.
US 2010/0051196 A1 discloses a similar device, in which the folded paper sheets of a stack are temporarily adhesively joined together at suitable locations in order to prevent the individual sheets of a stack from shifting prior to the actual binding. The temporary adhesive sites are preferably selected in such a way that they are eliminated during the subsequent processing of the book block.